No other Way
by Queen-of-Gondor
Summary: Will Legolas go to Valinor before it's too late? Please read and review!!!


A/N: Here's my new story! Sorry that it took me so long, but I wanted to write some Buffy-stories first. I hope you like it - please read and review!!! I really want to know what you think.  
  
I know that Gimli won't be immortal when he goes to Valinor, but I like it better this way (-;  
  
The story is from Gimli's POV!   
  
Sindarin words:  
  
ada - dad  
  
mellon nin - my friend  
  
ion nin - my son  
  
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Tolkien!!!  
  
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No other way  
  
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He just stood there in silence, watching the gulls fly over the gentle blue waves of the sea.   
  
I could see the longing in his deep blue eyes, longing and pain.  
  
Those feelings had replaced the joy and pride I had known before completely.   
  
Legolas was a shadow of himself and deep in his heart he knew it as well as I did.  
  
He hadn't really been himself for years but now that Aragorn had died and Arwen, his beloved wife, had gone to Lorien to follow him, there was nothing my friend had left in Middle Earth.  
  
Nothing but me.   
  
I knew that he stayed only for me, suffered only for me - and for our friendship. There was no way of denying it. And yet I had tried to live with it, pretended not to notice out of fear to lose him.  
  
But now, that I saw him standing there - so utterly hopeless - I wondered for the first time what kind of friend I was. It was not fair to let him suffer only because I feared to be alone.  
  
Slowly I approached my Elven friend.   
  
With every step I felt that I was growing old as well. Yes, I had only a few years left and I feared that Legolas wouldn't survive the death of another friend. Elves can die of grief, Sam had told me about that so long ago.  
  
The Elf didn't even realize that I was approaching him, or maybe he just didn't care.   
  
A gentle breeze was playing with his blond hair and even though he looked so sad he was just as beautiful as he had been when we had first met.   
  
No, he wasn't.   
  
His eyes didn't sparkle anymore, no smile lit up his fair face.  
  
The worst thing was that there was nothing I could do for him, there was no way to help him, except for letting him go.   
  
Legolas longed for the peace only Valinor could give him.  
  
~Legolas Greenleaf, long under tree  
  
In joy hast thou lived. Beware of the sea!   
  
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore  
  
Thy heart shall rest in the forest no more.~  
  
That had been the lady's words.  
  
The lady Galadriel, the most beautiful being I had ever met.  
  
But now I would have prefered seeing Legolas' smile again to seeing her once more. There was nothing I wouldn't have given to make him as happy as he had been when we had become friends. Even in the darkest hour he had been the one to cheer us all up.  
  
But sadly the Lady of the Golden woods had spoken truly.  
  
My friend's so beloved trees couldn't comfort him anymore and neither could I.   
  
"Legolas, you cannot wait any longer." I had never thought that only a few words, one sentence, would be able to bring so much pain.  
  
Slowly he turned around to face me.  
  
The look in his eyes broke my heart into a million pieces.  
  
"Wait for what?" His voice was not much more than a whisper but I could hear the the sadness that constantly lingered in it nontheless. A stranger probably wouldn't have noticed but I knew him too well.   
  
It was impossible for him to hide it.  
  
"You know what I mean. You must follow your kin."  
  
"My father and his people are still here."  
  
I rolled my eyes. This was his usual excuse.  
  
He had used it all the time when Arwen or Aragorn had asked him how long he would remain in Middle-Earth.  
  
"Your father won't stay longer than a few years as well and you know that as good as I do. And you can't even stay a few years longer."  
  
"That's nonsense, Gimli. Of course I..."  
  
"It will kill you!" I was too angry to stay silent any longer and so I interrupted him.  
  
Why didn't he understand that he needed to go?  
  
His next words shocked me. "I will die anyway, no matter what I do."  
  
For a moment I was too stunned to say anything. Then, after a few moments, I was finally able to speak again. "Why do you say that?" I hated my own weakness, but I couldn't stop my voice from breaking.  
  
"It's the truth, Gimli. I can't lose another friend. I can't lose you as well. But I will lose you if I go and I will lose you if I stay. There's no chance for me."  
  
Fear gripped my heart. "Legolas, don't talk like that. Of course there's a chance for you. If you go to Valinor your heart will be healed."  
  
"No, nothing can heal my heart. My father was right. Do you know what he told me when I came back from our journey?"  
  
"No." My voice was very quiet. I honestly didn't know what he meant.  
  
"He said that I was not ready to make friends with mortals. Yes, I think he was right." My eyes filled with tears as I heared those words. "But I don't regret anything. Aragorn, Arwen, Merry, Pippin, Eomer, all the others and you, I wouldn't want to miss a second of the time we have spent together. But now all but you are gone. But don't worry, I will stay until you... you are gone as well."  
  
He didn't cry but the terrible sadness in his quiet voice was harder to bear than the loudest sobs. It was harder to bear than anything else.  
  
"You must go!" I yelled at him, desperation clear my voice now. "Go to Valinor and be happy! Damn you!"   
  
He looked at me, calm as ever. And for a moment I could even see the proud prince he had been so many years ago. "No, Gimli."  
  
"How can I convince you, Legolas?"  
  
He bowed his head and I could tell that he was thinking about something, hesitated. For a moment I hoped that there was a way, but his answer destroyed that hope again. "You can't."  
  
Then the Elf turned around to watch the sea once more.   
  
There was nothing I could do to make him listen to me again. I knew that he would only ignore my words when he was like that.  
  
So I turned to go.  
  
**********  
  
He was fading before my eyes and there was nothing I could do.  
  
A few days after Aragorn's death he even collapsed. He seldom left the house anymore and there was nothing that could cheer him up.  
  
My only hope was that someone else would be able to convince him to go. And there was only one person who would maybe be able to.   
  
So I wrote a letter to Eryn Lasgalen, the Great Greenwood. The letter was for Thranduil, Legolas' father.   
  
I knew how much my friend loved him, maybe he would be able to safe him.  
  
There were so many possibilities running through my mind, but they were all nonsense. What if I would just leave? If I wasn't there anymore maybe, just maybe, he would go then. But I knew he wouldn't. He would probably die. And if I knocked him out and brought him to the ship he wouldn't survive the journey. And if...  
  
All nonsense.  
  
There was nothing I could do for him.   
  
Nothing at all, except for getting his father here.  
  
And so I asked the king to come to Ithilien.  
  
**********  
  
Thranduil was very fast but to me it seemed like an eternety until he arrived.  
  
To my surprise he came alone, there were no guards or servants around him. "Hello Gimli!" He greeted me as he dismounted his white stallion.  
  
"My Lord, it's good to see you." I bowed slightly.   
  
First Thranduil had been very suspicious towards me but now we came along very well. I think he even liked me a little.  
  
And I had found out that he wasn't as bad as my father had always told me.  
  
He was a good king, a great warrior and a loving father. On the day we had first met I had immediatly noticed that Legolas meant the world to him, this was obvious to everybody.   
  
"How is Legolas?" He finally asked.  
  
"I fear for him greatly. He grows weaker every day. I haven't heared him laugh for months. If he doesn't go to Valinor..." I trailed off knowing that Thranduil understood very well.  
  
For a moment there was silence and when I looked into the king's eyes I saw a deep grief and worry.  
  
Finally he nodded. "I will try to talk to him."  
  
With that he left me to look for his son.  
  
I prayed to Elbereth, or whoever listened, that he would be able to convince him to go.  
  
**********  
  
The two Elves were in the house for more than five hours. I could imagine that it wasn't easy for a father to talk with his son about something like that and I really could understand that it took them some time, but I couldn't remember that a few hours had ever seemed so long to me.  
  
Finally Thranduil left the house and walked over to me. He seemed to be deep in thoughts.  
  
When he stood before me he stopped but didn't say a word.  
  
I looked at him, trying to read something from his face but this was impossible.   
  
He looked at me for a long moment and then he spoke. "Gimli, I need to talk to you about something."  
  
"Will he go?"  
  
"Under a condition, yes."  
  
"What does he want?" It was as if a great burden was taken from my shoulders. Whatever he wanted, I would do it. No matter what his condition was about.  
  
"He wants you to come with him."  
  
I was more than stunned. Did he really mean this?  
  
How could it be possible that a dwarf should go to Valinor?  
  
Only Elves were allowed to go there.  
  
But this rule had already been broken, hadn't it?  
  
Frodo and Sam were living there, just like Gandalf.  
  
Two Hobbits and a Wizzard.  
  
Why shouldn't I go then, too?  
  
Because I was a dwarf and Elves and dwarves are enemies.  
  
But didn't Legolas and I prove that wrong already?   
  
"Will you go with him?" Thranduil brought me back to reality. His voice was filled with hope and when I looked up at him I saw that the proud king of Eryn Lasgalen suddenly looked very old. The worry about his son had let him age more than many centuries on this earth had been able to. He would die if his beloved son died. If Legolas would go to Valinor Thranduil would follow one day.   
  
Finally I nodded. "Yes, I will go with him," I whispered.   
  
A relieved smile came to the Elf's lips. "Thank you, Gimli!"   
  
I also had to smile a little when I thougth about our first meeting. We had hated each other and if Legolas hadn't prevented it we probably would have killed each other.  
  
But now everything was different. When I looked at him it was with the same respect he gave me.  
  
"Why didn't he come out with you?" I asked curiously.  
  
"He doesn't feel well. You must have noticed that he's very weak. I will help you to build a ship. I want him to rest until you two depart."  
  
"Yes, of course. I think I should tell him now that he doesn't have to go alone."  
  
"That's what you really should do. I think he will feel better then."  
  
**********  
  
Never before had I been relucantly to see Legolas, but the last few weeks had changed everything.   
  
It was hard to see him like that, but as his friend I couldn't leave his side. He deserved it after all we had done for each other.  
  
Slowly I walked into the house.  
  
He was sitting in his bed and when I entered the room he looked up at me, his eyes silently asked the question his father had asked me only a few minutes before: 'Will you come with me?'  
  
I smiled at him and he hestitantly returned the gesture. It was not real, though, it hadn't hadn't been real for years. Only a favor for friends, nothing more.  
  
"Don't worry, Legolas," I resured him. "You won't lose another friend. I will follow you to Valinor."  
  
The sigh he let out was so full of relief that it nearly broke my heart. For a moment he closed his clear blue eyes and when he opened them again I saw some of the old sparkle in them, and even though it was soon gone all too soon it had been good to see it again after such a long time. "Thank you, mellon nin," he whispered.  
  
I nodded and sat down on the bed next to him. He had always had pale skin but now he nearly looked like a ghost. Even though he had slept much during the last few days he looked so very tired. "I'm also glad that we don't have to part, my friend. But I fear you must hold on a few days longer. Your father and I will build the ship which will bring us to the Undying Lands."  
  
He nodded. "Do not worry, I will hold on. But I'm going to help you!"  
  
"No, you will stay in here and safe your strenght," I said firmly even though I liked it to see the old determination on his face.  
  
"Only a little if I'm up to." I remained hard and shook my head. "Please?"  
  
I sighed defeated. "Alright, but only if you are up to. We will start tomorrow. Let's wait and see how you feel then see how you feel then."  
  
He nodded and forced himself to smile at me once more. I couldn't remember when I had seen him smile truly the last time and I longed to witness it again.  
  
I only hoped that I would see it again in Valinor.  
  
**********  
  
The next few days we worked very hard on building the ship.   
  
Legolas did as much as he could to help us but of course we didn't allow him to do the hard work.  
  
When we were finished we took as much food and water as we would need and brought it on the ship.   
  
On the next morning Legolas and I made ourselves ready to depart.   
  
To me it seemed that my friend felt a little better since he knew that he would finally go to the Undying Lands. He didn't look as if he was about to faint anymore and he had at least eaten a little.  
  
But now he stood on the beach, looking at his father. First neither of them said a word. It was hard for the two Elves to say farewell.  
  
Finally Thranduil walked foward and took his son into his embrace.   
  
They held each other for a long time and I could see unshed tears in their eyes.  
  
I couldn't tell who first pulled back but relucantly they parted.   
  
Legolas took a deep breath. "I shall miss you, ada."  
  
"I shall miss you, too. Promise me that you will be alright when I follow you."  
  
"I will, I promise," my friend whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "When will you come?"  
  
"As soon as I am ready to go, my son. You know that our people still need me."  
  
He nodded and somehow managed a small smile. "I shall look forward to the day when we will meet again."  
  
"So will I, ion nin."  
  
Then I said goodbye to Thranduil as well and Legolas and I left Middle-Earth for good.  
  
When we were already far away from the harbor I still looked over to the place we were just leaving.   
  
Never would I forget my father's halls, the Glittering Caves, Gondor, Rohan, the adventures we had been through there, the fellowship... Our friends who couldn't follow and had left Middle Earth in a different way. Aragorn, Arwen, Merry, Pippin, Eomer, Eowyn, Faramir... Never would we see them again. We would not be able to see what a good king Eldarion, son of Aragorn, would be, we wouldn't see his youngest sister, the only one who didn't have a husband yet, marry. I would never see Lothlorien again, the place where I had first met the Lady Galadriel, the place Legolas and I had become friends.  
  
But in Valinor our friendship would last forever and when I turned my head to look at him, when I saw this light of anticaption in his eyes, I knew that this was all that mattered.  
  
End 


End file.
